Lymphedema Exercises DVDs?

Hi, 

Thanks for your answers.  Quiche, thanks for the link about the Lebed Method.  I found part I to X, very interesting and great fun.  I had heard about the Lebed method, but I did not know, there were so many videos available on Youtube.  It certainely makes Lymphedema exercises more fun! 

Hello Ladies,

Lots of Lebeb's fans out there!.  I watched all the Lebed  Lymphatic opening exercises  I could find on Youtube and wrote down all the instructions and translated them in Finnish for our little "lymfa Ladies" group here.   As some of the ladies don't speak English, I thought it would be nicer for them to have the instructions in their own language.  We will be meeting next week for an exercise session at the therapy pool , so I will tell them about the Lebed method and hopefully get them moving with some music and maybe blow bubbles too!!

We started two weeks ago a sort of Aqua Lymphatic exercises program based on Dorit Tidhar's method (ALT- Aqua Lymphatic Therapy).   We read all the articles & reports that we could find on the web and with all that information worked out our little program.  Swimming is OK, but it does not specifically target arm lymphedema, neither does water aerobic.  We wanted to optimize our time in the pool and really get the best of it with regard to lymphedema.

 I just found out that there are 2 DVDs now available for ALT, one for arm lymphedema and one for leg lymphedema.   Here is the link in case some of you are interested:

http://www.aqua-lymphatic-therapy.com/news.html

The ALT DVD is also available on the Lymphedema Association of Quebec , but it does not say if it is the arm or the leg DVD. Here is the link:

http://www.infolympho.ca/en/orderForms.htm

I ordered the arm DVD straight from the ALT web site. Looking forward to receiving it.

Take care.

Hi Binney4,

 Thanks for your support!  We don't have a web site.  Our group is pretty small so far, but things have accelerated these last weeks.  Thursday, I am going to meet with the secretary of the Breastcancer Association in Helsinki and try to push the idea that they could  create a Lymphedema category on their web site  (information package, library, discussion board....). They have several hundreds members scattered througout the country, and  the best way to reach as many lymfa ladies as possible would be through internet. 

 Lymphedema was a lonely business at the beginning.  I contacted the Breastcancer association at the beginning of the year about this subject, but did not get any answer.  A bit discouraging, but then I thought that if this door does not open, another one will.  So, during the spring, I contacted a journalist of the local newspaper (a woman) and explained, that I was just angry and fed up of only reading about breast cancer in the newspaper, or watching programs on TV that only dealt with some aspects of breast cancer (newly diagnosed women, support programs for these women, or also about how good treatments are in Finland....).  But absolutely nothing about the consequences of the treatment.... Lymphedema!!!  That journalist was very interested; she came at my house to interview me and I tried to give her a lot of information about LE and also asked to put my contact details at the  end of the article because my project was to found a much-needed LE support group.  After the article was published, 6 women living in the area contacted me and we started our little group.  I just could not believe the total lack of information they had about the disease, about risk prevention and above all about self-management.  Since then, we have met several times and I have passed on a lot of information I found on this forum and many other web sites quoted on the forum.

Last week, we had a second article published in the local newspaper because we signed a petition addressed to the local Health authorities asking that Lymfa therapy be also granted to LE  patients.  The title was "LE patients don't get helpful lymfa therapy".  In Finland, we get 2 compression sleeves per year (per person)  but lymfa therapy is denied on the basis that there is no scientific research showing that it works!!! can you believe that????  Once cancer treatments are over, LE patients have to go to private therapists and for some of them, it is just too expensive.

 We contacted our local member of parliament and she promised to bring the matter on the agenda of the next City council (which is this week).  We have contacted every member of the Council, explaining about LE and how important Lymfa therapy in the treatment of LE.  Hopefully, our voices will be heard and they will vote some extra money in the budget!!  Let's see.  Even if they don't, at least we are proud of ourselves, because we have done something and brought some attention on lymphedema for the first time!

I scaned the articles, but I can't get them in with this post. 

After the second article was published, 3 more women contacted us, so our little group is growing.  Hopefully, more will join.  I would like to organize a little workshop about self-management in collaboration with the Breastcancer association because there are no such programs here and it is definitely much needed. It would be also great to get the support of health care professionals... but unfortunately so far, not very many have shown interest.  Anyway, if they don't do anything, we will... in fact we already have.

 I will let you know how things develop.  In the meantime, greetings to everybody on the Forum.